


Phantom But Not a Fenton

by DanaGone



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-08
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:34:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23061034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DanaGone/pseuds/DanaGone
Summary: Danny Fenton/Phantom had a great life, or afterlife in this matter. A year passed and things were finally getting better. But when his parents accidentally reveal to him that he's actually adopted, how will he react? And what if his biological parents are not what he expected, at all. What if it turns out his arch-enemy, Vlad Masters/Plasmius, is actually related to him?
Comments: 42
Kudos: 49





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or show. I only own the plot. However, they're a couple of minor characters that I added. (They aren't really important, I just added them for the fun of it)
> 
> Disclaimer #2: Phantom Planet happened, however, there are major changes. UwU
> 
> 1\. Danny and Vlad never revealed their secrets. (Only Danny's parents know his secret because he finally decided to tell them).
> 
> 2\. Vlad isn't dead (obviously since he's one of the main characters in this story)
> 
> 3\. Sam and Danny aren't a couple (Just because I'm not good at writing relationships and I want to focus it on the actual plot. However, that doesn't mean I wouldn't add minor DxS shipping :)
> 
> 4\. Tucker isn't mayor but was honoured for his contributions.

It was a nice summer afternoon. The weather was pretty hot today, but had a gentle cool breeze to it, making it the perfect day to go on a picnic. The green leaves swayed gently in a rhythmic pattern, following the direction of different coloured birds. The yellow dandelions made their entrance in this summer month along with the vast trees to complete the perfect summer painting.

Of course, Amity Park would be an ordinary summer town, that is, if it weren't for the occasional ghosts disrupting the citizens from enjoying their perfect day. But it all felt like an illusion when their ghostly hero took care of it. Not only that, it also seemed that the ghost zone was having 'good weather' too, meeting new allies and forming relationships. Each would give a story of their time in the human world while others laughed at unfortunate pranks played. Even Danny didn't seem to have trouble fitting in with them anymore and accepted his ghost half even more. After all, he did help them save the earth from the disasteroid a few months back.

Ever since the time he saved everybody from Pariah Dark and the asteroid, he's made a lot of ghostly acquaintances and still continued to make new more. He was impressed at how they acted like actual living people, and sometimes, Danny forgot he was communicating with ghosts. He liked going around with Sam and Tucker in his dad's vehicle, discovering new regions and meeting different types of ghosts. He also managed to fix relationships between some of the ghosts and come in good-terms with them.

For instance, he called a truce with Johnny 13 and Kitty ever since he helped them get a valuable tool to add on to his motorcycle during Christmas. And Kitty supported her boyfriend and was glad he wasn't interested in going back to the human world anymore. 

He also met with Amorpho just a couple of weeks ago. Sometimes, the two played harmless pranks on people, both in the human world and ghost zone. And now, Danny allowed him to come back to the human world under certain circumstances; not playing any harmful pranks on people, and to not spend too much time there. 

As for Pandora, he hadn't really kept in touch with her since the day the Box Ghost attacked, but she later wrote him a 'thank you' letter for the time he took care of the ghost that was getting on her nerves aka Klemper. He also received a gift from her; a small glowing necklace that was supposed to offer him a shield when fighting ghosts. It would come in use in case of an emergency, and the wielder protects as many people as long as they held hands. However, it worked only once a week, so he had to use it wisely. 

He also continued to visit Frostbite. The yeti and his clan always welcomed him warmly (despite it being cold there) and were always there to teach him new tricks about his ice powers. Danny felt the place always inviting, and never hesitated to go there when he had a question or problem. After all, they shared a common bond. 

Princess Dorathea also welcomed Danny and his friends to her castle, especially Sam. She was thankful to them for getting rid of her brother and showing her, her true powers. So every time they showed up, a feast was prepared and music was played. And although Danny told her multiple times it was completely unnecessary, she insisted that he be treated with such festivities. 

That's speaking for the ghosts he had already met. He was also introduced to multiple others, in... weird situations. But nevertheless, he liked their company and always made time to visit each and every one of them. This included a very old lady who loved knitting for her cats, a shy but scary when angered ghost child (a few years younger than him), a wise and serious pilot, and a moody teenage jock. The latter reminded him of Dash, except that this ghost actually looked threatening and had a good amount of muscles.

The point is, he's made a lot of ghost friends over the past few months, thanks to him saving the earth. He was also appreciated and loved in the human world too, and the statues sure managed to get his good side. 

Of course, not all ghosts liked him. In fact, he was sure that still half of the ghost zone disliked him. That included Skulker (the very determined hunter), Technus (an obsessed technology ghost), the Lunch Lady, and a whole lot more. He would've added the Box Ghost to the list but Danny didn't really consider him as a threat. 

Overall, his afterlife was looking good, and he could imagine himself having a great future too. He had a family who loved him, caring friends, and a world that accepted him.

Yes, it was indeed going well.

Before the bitter truth was accidentally revealed to him. 


	2. Back to School

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a short chapter and I'm very sorry about that. However, the upcoming ones will be longer with more details!

**~~~**

**2:49 PM, Thursday Afternoon**

The wind was howling greatly that day. The trees swayed roughly to the side while birds fought against the wind pressure. It looked nothing like four weeks ago. And it didn't look like the weather was going to change either. After all, autumn had just begun.

Danny looked out the window soberly as he sighed. Summer was now over and he was back to school and it's problems. And in a few months, winter will be approaching. _Yay_. The young boy would've admired the colourful leaves if he weren't so focused on the annoying ghost that was outside making silly faces at him. He pushed back his glowing green eyes in case somebody had noticed, and turned his attention back to his notebook. 

He suddenly jumped when Sam purposely coughed, a seat beside him. He was so deep in thought that he forgot he was still in class. The goth raised an eyebrow, questioning him if he was alright but the half-ghost only nodded his head and turned his attention back to his math teacher.

 _If only I was competent in Math, I might have a chance of passing this class without paying attention,_ he thought to himself, staring blankly at the algebraic sheet of paper that had been handed out minutes ago.

"If you don't finish this, it's homework for tonight," the teacher informed as she went back to writing on the board. Danny sighed once more and turned to Sam who gave an annoyed look. It looked like his friend was not pleased with the teacher's words either.

Scratch that. The whole class looked tired and annoyed. And that was just the beginning of school. Shouldn't people look more refreshed after the summer break? Apparently not. And the next break was still a couple of months away...

The bell rang, signalling the end of class as Danny quickly gathered his school supplies and walked out with Sam, planning to meet Tucker by the lockers. The pair arrived at their lockers which was fortunately placed next to each other.

"How was math?" Tucker asked though he didn't seem genuinely interested in what they did. Still, Sam replied offhandedly.

"As always. More homework, annoying classmates, and Danny spacing out," she said with a grin as the half-ghost rolled his eyes but said nothing in return. 

"I can see. Let's just head out of here to my place and eat some food. I'm hungry! And while you're at it, you can daydream as much as you want Danny," Tucker replied as he started walking, the two friends following close behind.

"You're hilarious. I wasn't daydreaming, I'm just tired-"

"Hey, Fenturd! How was your summer break? Not that I care, but I hope you didn't miss me," a familiar voice said as Danny groaned, already knowing who it was.

"Look, Dash, I'm not in the mood-" before Danny could complete his sentence, he had already been shoved into the locker. He tried to protest but it was already too late and his friends got pushed away, preventing them from helping him.

The jocks laughed, their voices echoing in the hallway as they walked further away. Danny sighed and waited until everybody had left before phasing out of the locker, unamused. 

"This is the fourth time this week," Tucker stated as the other two friends rolled their eyes.

"But seriously though, we have to find a way to get them to stop," Sam seriously said as the trio headed to the main school doors.

"What? Gift him roses and a letter begging him to stop stuffing me in lockers?" Danny sarcastically said as Tucker chuckled.

"I don't think that's what she meant-"

"Obviously. Let's just change the topic, I really don't want to talk about Dash and his goons," the half-ghost said as they started walking to Tucker's house.

"Fine. We'll talk about the science experiment all 10th graders are expected to participate tomorrow," Sam said casually as Danny did a doubletake.

"Wait, what science assignment?" he bluntly asked.

"The blood test? Remember during English class when Mr. Lancer started talking about the science assignment everybody has to take and how he will be supervising it? I'm guessing you weren't paying attention," Tucker grinned.

"You guessed right. Can someone explain?" Danny asked, now confused. 

"Basically, every student is obligated to take a blood test to determine your blood type and look at your DNA samples. And we got a paper today outlining the other medical information we need to bring in," Tucker explained as Danny stopped walking. 

" **W-what!?** " he yelled as his male friend raised an eyebrow. 

"Oh, don't worry. They aren't invading our privacy, they just-"

"It's not that, dimwit. Danny _can't_ take the blood test," Sam said in a serious tone. "Unless he wants to reveal his ghostly identity."

"Here's where you are wrong. You don't necessarily need to take the blood test right now. You can just hand in a record of your blood test results that you took before," Tucker grinned as he turned to look at Danny. "I'm pretty sure you didn't have ghost powers the last time you took the test. There's no way they'll find out!"

Danny sighed out of relief, remembering how he had taken one two years ago, before the accident. So there wasn't anything to worry about. 

"But why are they even doing this? They have never done this in the past, and it just seems so sudden..." the half-ghost said hesitantly. 

"When you say 'they', do you mean the school board or the G.I.W?" Sam asked with a raised eyebrow as both boys did a doubletake.

"The **_what?!_** "

"You heard me. You guys weren't paying attention in class, were you?" she said annoyingly as the two shook their heads sheepishly. "Well, lucky for you guys, I was the only one listening in class and heard the whole thing. The G.I.W are officially back on your tail, Danny."

The half-ghost froze, frustratingly grumbling under his breath. "They hadn't given up, have they? I thought that after a whole month of rest and peace, they would've already dropped my case and let me be..."

"I'm afraid not. I still can't believe they managed to convince the school into looking through a student's private information without their consent! But when I propose an environmental idea to stop cruelty to frogs, they disregard it!" Sam grumbled, kicking a rock on the sidewalk as Tucker rolled his eyes. 

"Eh, whatever. They have _nothing_ about the ghostboy, and they certainly don't have his blood either. And even if they somehow did, they wouldn't be able to connect it to Danny as the only similarities would be the gender and blood type. Forget it! They're terrible ghosthunters," Tucker laughed with a grin.

"Hmm, I don't know guys. Their new leader seems kinda shady to me..." Sam worryingly said as Danny groaned. 

"Oh, come on Sam, loosen up! So they have a new leader. What're they going to do? As far as we know, they haven't accomplished anything. We don't even know if they're still interested in hunting him. Who said they're doing this science assignment to figure out Phantom's identity?" Tucker stated as Danny nodded in agreement.

"Tucker's right. With my blood test results from two years ago and their lack of information about Phantom, I'll just look like any basic teenage boy," he said hopefully as Tucker grinned.

"Not to mention the school's wimp," he joked as Danny playfully punched him and Sam smiled.

"Yeah, I guess you guys are right. Anyway, you better have something vegetarian in your fridge, Tucker! I'm starving!" Sam laughed. 

"Don't worry. I just got a bunch of snacks from the other day and they're yummy!"

**~~~**


	3. GiW

**~~~**

**_ 6:18 am, Last Sunday Morning_**

"Sir," a man dressed in a white suit walked in, his face holding a firm gaze. "I think this was what you were looking for."

The man handed the folder, important papers inside labelled 'Project P'. The other man dressed in the black suit took it curiously (Agent Beta), his eyes widening slightly at the label. He looked over at his employee who nodded, and a grin spread over his face.

"Operative K. I see you guys actually managed to get me something," Agent B said, quickly flipping over the files inside.

"Did you doubt we wouldn't?" Operative K said, slightly offended but still quite pleased with his team's discovery. The leader chuckled.

"No. But I recall you guys had trouble hunting him in the past. Speaking of, how did you guys get these details?" he asked. K grinned.

"You might wanna take a look at some of the stuff we gathered about him first. You wouldn't believe it! And all because of his blood..." the man in the white exclaimed.

"Blood?" Agent B asked confused, unsure what his worker meant. They were hunting a _ghost_ , **not** a _human_. Ghosts have _ectoplasm_ , **not** blood. But before he can ask for clarification, he turned to the first page and stumbled at the first thing that caught his eyes. 

**Species:** _Half-human/ghost (Hybrid)_

"He's human too?!" 

"Yes indeed he is, sir," the other man proudly smiled in satisfaction. Agent B smirked, looking over the test results in shock.

"Our task has gotten a hundred times easier now, and fascinating. Just imagine the things we can uncover with this new information, a hybrid!" the leader said with a grin. 

"I agree, sir. We might've discovered a whole new species. I wonder if there are more of them out there on earth," Operative K exclaimed as Agent B nodded. 

"That's wonderful! With this information, it'll be a piece of cake to find the boy! Say, how did you get his blood again?" the man asked although his focus was mainly on the details in the clipped papers. 

"I mean, you asked for us to watch the ghostboy rather than attacking him. Might I say, your suggestion was the key to our success, and we would've never found out his identity with our old boss in charge," Operative K praised.

"That's very flattering. Go on..."

"Well, we kept a close eye on him without getting discovered during his fights. One of our agents noted how there was a cut on the boy's arm that had blood spewing out. Luckily, we were able to get a droplet from the fight scene after he left. We did some analyzing after and were shocked to find out it wasn't just ectoplasm!"

"That's good to hear. The hard part's over, now all we need to search for the boy. It won't be long till we discover who it belongs to," Agent B grinned, tapping his fingers lightly on his desk. 

"That's right. Now if you'll excuse me, sir, I would like to get back to my team and start the investigation as quickly as possible," the other man said as his boss nodded.

"You're excused. Inform me as soon as you discover something new," he said as Operative K nodded and scurried away, closing the door behind him. 

Agent B smirked to himself, taking another puff out of his cigar and looking through the file one last time. 

"I look forward to meeting you, _hybrid._ "

**~~~**

_**Name: ______**_ Phantom

 ** _Age:_ **Approx. 14-16

 _ **Sex:**_ Male

 _ **Species:** _Half-human/ghost (hybrid)

 _ **Abilities:**_ Invisibility, intangibility, speed and flying, ectoplasmic powers, ghost wail, duplication, 'ghost' sense

 _ **Blood Type:**_ B

 _ **Parents:** _Unknown

 _ **Appearance:**_ White hair, glowing green eyes, olive skin, black eyebrows and hazmat suit

 _ **Human Appearance:**_ Unknown (Black eyebrows = maybe black hair?) (pg.18)

**~~~**

**3:26 pm, Saturday Afternoon (Present)**

"So, did you ask your parents about the project?" Sam asked as Danny nodded, his ears listening to what she was asking but his eyes focused on the game they were all playing at Tucker's house.

"Thank god your parents already know you're a ghost," the techno-geek said with a grin.

"Yeah, I'm glad too. It feels better now that my parents know who I am. I now don't need to make up an excuse as to why I'm late to school or why I'm failing classes. Of course, they don't approve of my current grades but they try to support and help me make room for studying," the ghostboy smiled as Sam smiled back.

"That does sound better. It would've been hard to explain to them why you can't take the blood test if they didn't know of your secret. Speaking of, did you also tell them that the GiW are now hot on your trail even though ghosts did save the whole planet from an asteroid?" Sam asked again.

"After a certain half-ghost started it," Danny annoyingly pointed out. "Because of him, the GiW still don't trust me although it's been quiet for a couple of weeks... But no I didn't. If my parents knew, they would've marched right to their place and accidentally revealed my secret."

"Fair point. Oh, and about Vlad, how do you think he's doing right now?" Tucker asked smirking.

"Like hell, I know! Probably playing chess with his cat or 'scamming' some billionaire airheads, whatever," Danny grumbled. "Not that I'm complaining, but why did he resign from being mayor and go back to Wisconsin?"

"Surprising how you didn't notice. That man couldn't take it when you were receiving praise from everybody!" Tucker laughed before going back to paying attention to the game. 

"Well, I'm glad he's gone. I just hope he hasn't gone back to scheming like the GiW. For some reason, I have a bad feeling by their sudden lack of interest in you..." Sam said, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

"Or they gave up," Danny added, shrugging as he went back to helping Tucker in the video game. 

"Doubt it. But did you tell your parents, about Vlad I mean? I'm sure they wouldn't want you around him after all the shit he put you through," Sam pointed out as Danny stopped for a minute and then shook his head 'no'. "What, why?!"

"Because if I tell them, they'll get overprotective of me and start drama with him! Vlad's dangerous, I don't want them to get hurt. I'm just pretending that he doesn't exist anymore so that I can get on with my life," Danny explained. The half-ghost hoped that the older halfa really did stop with his evil schemes against his family and that he's gone back to his usual rich life. 

Danny did not want to see the man again. After all the trouble he caused in his hometown, just the sight of him is enough to throw him off guard and go into defense mode. 

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Anyhow, you excited about the project on Monday?" Sam asked, wanting to change the mood.

"Hell yeah! We get to skip half the school day just waiting for every student to take the blood test. Not to mention, the lecture about responsibility in the morning by our principal will probably waste a whole 20 minutes," Tucker exclaimed, fist-pumping in glee.

"Not to mention we skip English. I forgot to do my English essay and Mr. Lancer was supposed to collect it on Monday," the half-ghost grinned, his focus now going back to the game. Sam rolled her eyes but chuckled at his behaviour and also got back to the game. 

**~~~**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all I'm getting three weeks off school next week so I'll try to post more chapters! Honestly, y'all are too kind and patient with me <3 I hope the upcoming chapters are up to your expectations ≧◠‿◠≦✌


	4. Test Results

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hey guys! I became a weeb during quarantine oof, this is what happens when you grow bored at home ;) But omg my favourite anime that I'm obsessing over this week is Black Butler! It's really good, I would greatly recommend watching it. I'll be reading the manga now cause I've heard some confusing things about 'Ciel' and I have no idea what's going on. Plus, the ending of season 2 angered me SO MUCH. I mention the 'ending' because season 2 overall was actually interesting and I liked the new characters.
> 
> Anyhow, here ya go! I've been driving my friends crazy with anime talk so I'm really sorry. But I NEEDED to rant this out haha. 

**~~~**

**7:48 am, Monday Morning**

"Is it too late to turn back now?" Danny grumbled to himself as he looked at the front of his school gloomily, not at all excited to be there. But then again, when was Danny ever happy to be in school, especially Monday's?

"I say we just go back to my house since my parents are away and play video games," Tucker suggested seeming serious as Sam rolled her eyes.

"We'll just bring attention to ourselves if we continue to stand there," she said to the two boys. "Trust me, I feel the same way but we can't just ditch school because we feel like it. Remember what my parents did they last time we attempted to do such a thing?"

The two boys shuddered at the memory but then finally decided to walk into the building and headed to their lockers, hanging their jackets and books, only bringing the required files. 

"You didn't forget to bring it, did you?" Sam asked worriedly as Danny grinned, phasing his arm into his locker and pulling out the sealed envelope. 

"Nope. My parents made me put it in my bag as soon as they gave it to me and luckily, they had all the needed information from two years ago. This means I won't have to take the test!" he exclaimed.

"Shh! Say it a little louder, would ya?" Tucker whispered as he looked around, making sure that nobody had been eavesdropping on them. "You can never be too careful with your surroundings."

"Oh, come on, Tuck. Who would be interested in listening to the school's outcast?" Danny rolled his eyes playfully.

"They would," the techno-geek quietly said as he looked over Danny's shoulder at the end of the hallway. Danny, confused, follow his friend's eyes and looked over his shoulder. 

**The G.i.W**

They were two agents wearing white suits and black glasses, observing the large amounts of teenagers swarming through the hallways. One of them made eye contact with Danny's group before looking away at another group. 

"Well, they can't be good news," Danny mumbled, shivering at their menacing stares as he brought his attention back to his friends. 

"No shit. They're the reason why they are looking through every single student's profile. Talk about invasion of privacy," Sam muttered disapprovingly as Tucker smiled at his two friends.

"On the bright side, we get to miss two periods! Now let's hurry to the assembly hall before we start looking suspicious," he said as they nodded and the trio walked towards the assembly doors and found nice seats at the back where nobody would be paying attention to them. They made sure to sit together and lay low by not having their devices open in case a teacher spotted them. Attention was the least they needed right now, especially Danny.

The assembly was short and brief and the principal started addressing what information was required to hand in, to the teachers and government agents. They also mentioned how important it was that every student took a DNA and blood test today if they didn't have it with them. And they also mentioned how it couldn't be more than 3 years ago which everybody found confusing.

Why did it have to be a recent sample? Your DNA doesn't change the older you grew, everybody knew that. But Danny, Sam and Tucker knew the main reason **why** the GiW wanted a recent sample, and they were glad that they wouldn't be getting an accurate one. 

After the principal's announcement, students were escorted to their third-period class where they would have to hand their envelopes to the teachers while the others had to take the test. In this case, Danny, Tucker and Sam had a class with Mr. Lancer and only Tucker along with a few students needed to take a sample.

"How was it?" Danny asked after the techno-geek had finished the test. Tucker frowned at the question, rubbing his arm but gave a thumbs up.

"Not bad. Thank god they didn't make us take it in a hospital. I wouldn't have taken a step there!" he shuddered as his two friends chuckled.

"It's over so you don't have to worry anymore. Plus we missed class and you don't have to worry about unfinished math homework," Sam said as she looked over at Danny. "Funny how you're the calm one here and Tucker's worried instead."

"Oh, trust me. I can't go a minute without looking over at those ghosthunters and feeling paranoid. I feel like they are waiting for the perfect time to blast me," Danny nervously chuckled as Tucker patted his shoulder comfortingly.

"Hey, it's all good man. Just try to pretend they aren't here. We have lunch soon anyway and the cafeteria is serving bologna today so that should cheer you up," he said with a grin as Sam rolled her eyes disgusted but gave Danny a warm smile.

"Tucker's right, Danny. Not about the meat part, of course. You know we'all always stick by you and we won't let anyone get away with hurting you," she said sincerely as Danny smiled back, causing the two to blush after meeting each other's eyes. Tucker grinned at the exchange between them and clapped his hands.

"Alright lovebirds, let's go get some food," he said interrupting them as they frowned at him but didn't say anything and just walked after him, their faces still red.

The trio entered the cafeteria and Danny and Tucker both decided to wait in line for lunch. Sam had her own food and instead told them that she'll be waiting at their usual table. The two boys nodded and took a place in the long line, eager to eat.

Unfortunately for Danny, lunch would have to wait a little longer. A cold mist escaped his mouth as he groaned and scanned the cafeteria for the ghost that disturbed his lunch break.

 _They really couldn't wait until I ate,_ Danny thought to himself in annoyance and was surprised to see that there wasn't just one ghost. Thankfully, it wasn't Skulker or Technus who had come to fight him this time but merely a couple of low levelled ghosts fooling around. 

Everybody was already running out the door and Danny was about to transform when Tucker grabbed his arm and pulled him aside.

"What do you think you're doing?!" he exclaimed as Danny looked at the students once more before turning back to face his friend.

"What do you mean. I'm obviously going to defeat them before they decide to hurt anyone," he said, having no clue why his friend was so worried about him changing. It wasn't the first time he had turned into his ghost self during school.

"Didn't you notice the cameras hidden here?" Tucker said as Danny gaped, and to his misfortune, his friend was right. There were cameras decorated all over the room, all in different nooks and corners. "The Guys in White set them up in the morning to record any 'suspicious activity'. Man, you have to be careful net time."

Danny nodded and thanked him, now running out of the doors. Yes, there were cameras everywhere in the school, but surely there wouldn't be any in the men's washroom-

He stopped dead in his tracks and his eyes widened at the sight of the agents standing by classrooms, restrooms and hallways. There was one even blocking the janitor's closet. There was **no way** he'll be able to get smoothly past them. 

And some were already making their way towards him now.

"Out of the way, kid," one of them said as they pushed Danny roughly to the side, entering the cafeteria. He rubbed his arm and frowned at the men who were yelling at the rest of the kids to escape but made no move to involve himself in the ghost fight. 

Eventually, he met up with Sam and Tucker who were both displeased with the current situation.

"Great! We're missing lunch!" the techno-geek exclaimed as Sam elbowed him, catching him off guard. "Ah-but of c-course, I hope everybody's safe."

At any other time, Danny would've laughed at his friends' squabble but now, he was too busy glaring at the agents, his arms crossed. "I don't get why they're making such a big fuss about it."

"Right? It's just a couple of loose ghosts who were fooling around in the kitchen. They didn't even hurt anyone," Sam said, sharing the same thoughts as her friend.

After about ten minutes later, the men exited the cafeteria with big containers where the ghosts were individually locked up. At this, Sam gave a horrified look. She did not agree with caging them up. Whenever they caught ghosts, they always sent them back to the ghost zone to roam free. But she knew that the GiW won't be letting them out anytime soon. 

Danny also looked upset and that made his stomach churn. As he looked at the ghosts being taken away, he couldn't help but feel a tinge of pity and guilt. 

He didn't like the way the GiW handled things, especially ghosts in general. They caged them up and experimented on them, not caring if they got hurt. Because according to them, ghosts can't feel. That thought made Danny shudder and hope he never gets caught by them. He can't imagine what they would do to him.

Danny decided he had seen enough and started to walk away while his two friends followed, but didn't bring up the topic. For the remainder of lunch, the trio chose to eat outside despite it being cool, and Tucker told them that he'll bring lunch. 

Sam knew something was wrong with her friend but she didn't question it and instead gave him a comforting smile. The two talked about video games until Tucker showed up with the two trays, one for him and the other for his friend. Danny forced himself to eat even though he wasn't feeling well but knew that Jazz would make him anyway.

Still, he pondered over what happened minutes ago and had one thought in mind.

_He cannot reveal his identity._

**~~~**

Classes went on like usual except for the GiW walking in here and there to 'check-in' on the students. But aside from that, it was just any normal day at Casper High. And Danny was starting to feel better.

"I've got English with Lancer," the boy said with a sigh as his friends gave him pitying looks. 

"Sucks, man. Too bad Sam and I don't share the same class with you," Tucker said as the trio exchanged goodbyes and each parted their separate ways. 

Danny walked to the last class of the day and tried to think about something positive. 

_'Well, at least I get to go home after this and...'_

_'Monday,'_ Danny groaned, realizing it was just the beginning of the week. He had been hoping for a relaxing evening in his room, listening to music and working on his new spaceship model. Too bad he had tons of homework to catch up on.

As soon as the boy reached class, he immediately noticed something wrong. Mr. Lancer seemed really perplexed, his eyes studying certain files to which he guessed were the test results. 

Danny shrugged off the bad feeling and took a seat, surprised to see the teacher hadn't given him a single glance upon entering the room despite him coming late. Mr. Lancer always made remarks whenever he saw him whether it be detention, overdue homework or simply just coming to class late. But for some reason, he was quiet. _Too quiet._

Class went smoothly with no yelling or scolding the students in the back row which made Danny grow a bit worried. Was his teacher okay...? Danny shook his head. Whatever the case, it really wasn't his problem. He could just be having a bad day. 

By the end of class, Danny enjoyed the tranquillity and didn't realize the bell had rung until he noticed the students exiting the room. He had been too preoccupied with finishing the overdue essay that he hadn't paid attention to his surroundings. He just hoped that his ghost sense hadn't gone off whilst he was busy. Protecting the school always came first, even if it meant having to listen to the lectures of his teachers and peers. 

"Mr. Fenton, may I speak to you?" the teacher said as Danny slowly stopped packing his binder only to sigh. What did he do this time? He had been working quietly the whole period, he hadn't even taken a 'washroom' break! Was it because of last week?

Eager to get it over with, Danny took the remaining papers and stumbled over to the teacher's front desk. 

"Is something wrong, Mr. Lancer? If it's about the missing desk, I'm sorry I'll-"

"Don't worry, boy. You're not in trouble, _this time,_ " the adult chuckled but then looked down and fiddled with the papers in front of him. "I just wanted to double-check about something with you..."

Not quite understanding what he meant, Danny quietly watched as Lancer took a few lined papers out of his personal folder. He immediately recognized his picture on the first page. What was going on?

"I can sense your uneasiness but I need you to pay attention with me," the teacher's tone grew serious as Danny nervously nodded. "As I was going through the files I received from my homeroom class, that you're in, I noticed something weird about the results."

Danny gulped, fidgeting with the hem of his short sleeve. He didn't like where this was going. Mr. Lancer couldn't have figured out his... no, that's _impossible_. The test was taken _before_ he'd gotten ghost powers, it wouldn't make sense if he did. But then why?-

"I know it's not any of my business but I wanted to see for myself if it's true or not, I mean, you should know by now but your behaviour states otherwise and," Mr. Lancer sighed at the boy's confused expression. "Okay, to put it bluntly, your blood type doesn't match."

Danny looked puzzled. "I'm sorry?"

"Look," the teacher pushed the paper to where the boy can see and pointed at a table. "It says that your blood type is B-, right?"

"Yes, I know that..."

"Good, but your parents on the other hand... I think I'll just show you," Mr. Lancer flipped over the page where the family's personal record was written, including their blood types.

 **Maddie Fenton:** A+

 **Jack Fenton:** O+

 **Jazz Fenton:** O-

The boy didn't know what he was reading. So what if they had a different blood type than him? It didn't mean-

Danny stared blanked at the paper, rereading the results to make sure he was seeing it right. Why... where did B come from? No... NO, none of his parents are B, not even his sister. They're either A or O. _Not_ B.

"I'm... I don't think," Danny struggled to think of the proper words to say what he wanted to say. What the hell was going on? Why didn't he...?

"I wanted to check with your grandparents or relatives, but I didn't think that would be appropriate," Mr. Lancer interrupted, taking back the papers. "Danny, I am confused as you are, but I think you should discuss this with your parents."

Danny felt like he was drowning. This wasn't happening, was it? Why did Jazz have their blood type and he didn't? No, it's impossible! Even if one of his relatives happened to have type B, that wouldn't prove anything, he would still... not be _him_. 

The boy slowly transformed to Phantom after leaving the school premises. There was one way to find out, and it was just like Mr. Lancer had said. 

He _**needed**_ to talk with his parents. 

**~~~**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for this late chapter, I participated in DannyMay for the first time this year! It was pretty fun and since I had time to spare, I said 'why not?' Anyhow, I plan on updating between this book and my other one (that's not fanfiction) so it won't take me two months to upload a chapter :')


	5. Doctor Who?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: "It won't take me over a month to update," I said, you know, like a liar. I'm very sorry, I don't think I was sane back then.
> 
> Anyway, I decided to take a break from social media and start a healthy routine (surprisingly), which helped reduce stress and focus on other things rather than moping around and taking naps. I hope you guys are also doing well during the break, spending some time outdoors and/or starting new hobbies to kill time :) Just make sure you're also content with your choices. At last, I wish this chapter satisfies you guys!
> 
> Disclaimer: There is an oc in this chapter, but they'll only appear a bit so it's minor. However, I wrote about this oc in one of the DannyMay tropes so if you'd like to learn more about them and understand their relation, I suggest checking out my book called 'Flickering yellow and green'. Danny met her before so that's why there'll be a bit of confusion for those who haven't read it!

**~~~**

**3:27 pm, Monday Afternoon**

Shock. Confused. Hurt. These were the three main emotions the poor boy was experiencing after being hit with the truth. He didn't want to believe it, a simple blood test wasn't going to suddenly turn his whole world upside down in just a day. He wasn't going to let it happen... or was he?

He can always just stay quiet about it and pretend the conversation never happened. He just won't mention it to his parents. Things would surely be back to normal in no time. All he had to do was keep his mouth shut, that's it. Eventually, he'll forget about the event in a year, pass it off as a joke or a strange occurrence. After all, nobody knew about this except for Mr. Lancer and himself. Of course, the teacher didn't want to dig deeper into the situation and seemed as uncomfortable with the results, maybe more, as Danny. Mr. Lancer didn't actually care, he was maybe a bit confused and shocked, but so will he forget.

Danny staggered down the hallway, his expression now blank, mainly because he didn't know what to think of the situation. It was bizarre indeed, and so unexpected. The boy hadn't seen this one coming, even getting his ghost powers wasn't the least shocking compared to this, and that said _a lot_. Danny desperately wanted to believe that everything will be okay and that things will go back to normal in time, but that little hope he clung onto was useless. Things would _never_ go back to where they were after this, _even_ if he kept it to himself.

The boy badly wanted to curse the universe for inflicting such nonsense, the damn school, even Mr. Lancer for revealing the truth to him. He banged his fists on a nearby locker, causing a crease to form that Danny didn't give two flying flips about. If someone saw him use his inhumane strength right now, he wouldn't care. Even revealing his secret identity wouldn't have been as bad as this, despite what the GiW would do to him. He always had time to deal with them later, but he can't do it now with his current problem. He couldn't run away, ask for help, no matter how much he desired to. Not telling his parents about it was part of that plan. He'd run away and not face them, afraid to hear what might come out of their mouths. Afraid of them discussing the truth to him and having to hear every single word said. It would be unbearable, and he'd rather be ignorant, even if it meant pretending to his 'parents' that everything's fine. He can always come up with a million excuses regarding his weird behaviour, and now that they know his secret, he'll just blame in on ghosts fights and they'll believe him.

But **how** will he act? Will he be able to pull up the facade during family nights? Can he still hug them knowing he's not their 'real son'? Does he even have the right to call them 'mom' and 'dad' anymore?

Danny could feel something wet rolling down his cheek. He touched his face to find them shockingly warm. Horrified somebody might seem him in such a state, the boy quickly wiped his face with the sleeve of his red jacket and took out an old tissue from his pocket to dab the stinginess in his eyes. He didn't need to look at a mirror to know they were red.

Maybe he was thinking too fast. Yes, that's right, he's too overwhelmed by these emotions to think logically. That must be it. Just because one person suspected what he feared doesn't mean it's true. If anybody went up to someone and told them they're adopted, the orphanage in his town would be as big as a castle.

 _'It's fine, you're overreacting'._ Taking a minute to cool down, the boy took long deep breaths to collect his thoughts and pushed the loose strands of hair from his face. _'There's only the blood test to prove it. It could just be an error or something... or maybe one of my parents' blood tests was recorded incorrectly. Problems with the system are a possibility, yes that **should** be it.'_

Now more concentrated with feelings pushed away to the side, Danny was able to come up with an idea, one that will discover the actual truth. Determination struck him and he went back to walking down the hallway, eager to get back home. He wanted to get things over with already and decide what to do later. However, if he was ever going to reach _that_ person, he needed another means of transportation; flying. But before he can find a place to hide (which shouldn't be hard considering everybody had left school premises a while ago) and transform to his ghost half, he noticed a very familiar car parked at the back of the school. It was his sister's, and that could only mean one thing; she'd come to pick him up. Any other given time, he would've gladly accepted the ride, after all, who'd wanna walk home (or fly, in Danny's case) at -15 degrees weather? It would start snowing any time soon according to the weather network!

Today was an exception though. He wanted to deal with the current problem by himself, and knowing his sister, she'd figure things out before he got the chance to explain. And he _couldn't_ risk letting that happen. Dragging Jazz to this would most likely make things worse for him, despite her wise thinking.

However, Danny was unable to make two steps before he was tackled by the last person he wanted to see today; Jazz.

"Danny! Why were you late?" she asked, pulling back before frowning at the look on her brother's face. "Don't tell me you had detention again?"

The boy lightly chuckled, wincing at how his voice cracked. "No, it's fine. Mr. Lancer was in a good mood today so he didn't catch me coming in late to class."

Jazz gave a look of disapproval and grabbed the half-ghost's arm, dragging him to the parking lot. "There weren't any ghosts for you to fight today, and before you ask; Yes, I checked. So don't make me tell mom and dad about this. They care about your studies and ghosthunting a lot, especially dad on the latter, but there's _nothing_ that would stop the **both** of them from grounding you for ditching class, even if it's just hunting ghosts," she pointed out.

Danny rolled his eyes and was about to reply to his sister's comment when he remembered his parents and their concern for his responsibilities. That was enough to pierce his heart. If his assumption turned out true... _why?_ **Why** would they care so much about him? Why did they put so much effort into making him succeed in life? Grounding him, rewarding him, giving lectures and pushing him to become one of them...

Jazz immediately noticed her brother's sudden change of behaviour and released her grip on him, turning to face him. "Danny? Are you alright?"

The boy wanted to reply to his 'sister' but another terrible thought crossed his mind. What if Jazz knew about this? I mean, she's smart as hell, there's no way she had no idea about this!

Does she know that they are unrelated? If she did, why would she hide it from him? They shared secrets all the time, there wasn't anything else hidden between them, nothing important at least. Danny wouldn't bear it if she had been lying to him all this time. Would he have to expect more family surprises he's unaware of after this?

But the worry in her eyes and concern every time he felt the tiniest upset was enough to brush off the conclusion. There's no way she'd be able to fake that. Whatever the truth was, Jazz also seemed oblivious of it, and he didn't know whether it'll be right to tell her now or later, or possibly never depending on how his parents reacted. However, that didn't help ease his mood one bit.

Because if Jazz indeed found out about this, which Danny knew she 100% would, he had no idea how she'll react. Will she still stay the same caring older sister he'd grown up with, or would things now change between them? Would she push him away and pretend he's a stranger? Would she still consider him as her little brother or an impostor? Even if they aren't blood-related, is it still possible for them to have the same sister-brother bond after this? So many _'would's'_ but no certain answers to _any_ of them.

Now feeling even worse, Danny turned his head away, making sure to not meet her eyes and spill everything right there. Jazz must've noticed something wrong by now and she immediately got into the car, ordering him to do the same. The boy followed and got into the passenger's seat, not daring to speak up. He probably wouldn't make sense anyway, he felt like he was going to faint back there!

Driving through the streets, Danny struggled to start the conversation. He really regretted not leaving sooner. He could've told her anything; his ghost sense had gone off and he had to go fight off some ghosts. That would've bought some time to do what he needed to do and then call Jazz to tell her she can go back home.

 _'But no, I just had to stand there like a total idiot and expose myself. She probably uncovered everything by now!'_ Danny cursed under his breath, wondering why of all days Jazz could've picked him up, it _had_ to be today. Obviously, luck was not on his side these past two days- no, years. Is it possible for a teenager to have to deal through so much shit in the lapse of a year? But then again, when was luck _ever_ on his side? And this month seemed to hold the worse for him, he was sure of it.

Danny wanted to continue quietly complaining to himself on his terrible life, but he knew now was not the time. He had two problems to deal with, starting with his sister.

The boy opened his mouth to say something, but Jazz interrupted him before he could say a single word.

"Save your excuses, I want to know what's going on, _now_. Don't think you can escape, it's impossible," she said to which Danny raised a challenging eyebrow. Not wanting to take her eyes off the street, she gave an all-knowing smirk. "I had dad ghost-proof the car, you really can't get out."

Danny groaned and crossed his arms, piercing his lips in distaste. He should've suspected that his sister would attempt something like this, now he has to be cautious whenever he decides to enter her car.

"Don't keep me waiting. I already had to sit in the car for half an hour, freezing my butt off until you decided to show up late. You owe me an explanation for worrying me, at least," Jazz pointed out, hands clutching the steering wheel. She indeed looked to have waited quite a while by how blue her hands and ears were. Thinking it would be a short ride, she didn't bother bringing mittens or even earmuffs along.

"Why didn't you just turn on the heater?" he asked, confused and hoping to change the subject.

The oldest teen rolled her eyes, glaring at the car in front of her. "Dad stuffed fudge in there last week and broke the whole thing. He said he'll fix it instead of taking it to a mechanic, but I told him it wouldn't be necessary," she nervously laughed. "You know how overboard he can get with his strange ghost weapons and unknown, possibly deadly, buttons."

Danny laughed as well, his mood lifted a bit. "If it involves technology, I'll just get Tucker to disable it for you."

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot." The car stopped on a red light. "Your friends were outside waiting for you and when they saw me, they said to tell you that they'll head home because their parents were picking them up. They also said that they'll call you as soon as you get home to make sure you come to Tuck's house for dinner, that is, _**after** you finish your homework_," Jazz made sure to emphasize her tone at the last part. Classes are busier this time of month and she wasn't going to let her brother slack off, no matter what. _Any_ excuse he was going to give wasn't going to work with her or her parents.

Danny sighed and leaned his head on the car window. "I can't go anyway. Today, I have to-"

The boy clamped his mouth shut. What was he thinking? He couldn't tell his sister he's going to the ghost zone, she'll ask why and it'll turn into an interrogation. Or worse, she'll either ask to come or tell mom and dad.

"Have to what, hm?" she questioned, eyes on the road but focused all on Danny.

"I have... homework," he stuttered, using the lamest excuse he could come up with. He needed to improve on not seeming suspicious.

Meanwhile, Jazz almost laughed. "I'm not gonna pretend I didn't hear that." Danny ** _and_** homework? Those two didn't go together. Either because her brother was interrupted by ghost fights, or tired to do it because of those ghost fights. She got to see both scenarios.

Not knowing what else to say, Danny sighed. He was at a dead end. Now anything he was going to say to her wouldn't work, she'll know that he's lying. And to make things worse, he's stuck in a car with no escape route. She had come unknowingly prepared.

"Why were you late?" she finally asked and when a minute of silence passed between them, she violently swerved the car to the right, earning a yelp from the boy.

"Jazz! What are you doing?!" he exclaimed. Was she insane? She could've crushed the car in front of them! "Jazz?"

The teenage girl stopped the car and took out the keys, but the doors remained closed. She then turned to face the pale boy in front of her who looked like he was going to pass out.

"Can you let me out? I need to empty my stomach," the boy murmured, his hand covering his mouth. However, Jazz merely stared and waited.

"No, you're telling me everything, right now, without _any_ interruptions," she ordered, crossing her arms as Danny rolled his eyes, wearing a mischievous look.

"You don't want me to ruin your car, do you? If you want this place to ever smell nice again, you better let me out," he threatened but when his words didn't even faze his sister the slightest or earn any sort of reaction, he knew he was doomed.

 _'Oh god, she's serious,'_ Danny thought to himself, taking a big gulp. This was _not_ gonna end well. Not to mention by the time he'd finish explaining, he'll probably have thrown up. And despite what he'd said, he didn't want to ruin his sister's car.

"Let's start from the beginning," Jazz said, starting the car again. "Why were you late?"

**~~~**

Danny ended up telling her about everything; from the blood tests to Mr. Lancer asking to see him and showing him the cursed papers.

Surprisingly, Jazz was silent the whole time, and if he didn't know any better, he'd say she was focused more on driving than his words. However, he knew that wasn't true, especially with the grim look on her face, preventing herself from exploding.

Having finished, the car was quiet once again and the boy regretted having spoken in the first place. Thankfully, Jazz finally decided to say something.

"Is there anything else to prove it?" she asked calmly which caught Danny off guard.

"Uh, no. It's just that. But I was going to take a DNA test to check if it matches mom's and dad's..." he said, waiting for her to ask anything else. But she only simply nodded.

"That's a good idea, but how are you going to take the test when your DNA has ghost ectoplasm on it?" she asked.

"Obviously I can't go to _any_ doctor," he pointed out. "So I was going to head to the ghost zone and ask a ghost doctor to do it instead."

Jazz raised an eyebrow. "How do you know they are safe?"

"Don't worry, she's not going to hurt me," Danny said before deciding to explain further. "Don't freak out, but once, my eyes got a bit infected and I had to get it treated-"

"You got hurt?!" Jazz exclaimed, trying to maintain her eyes on the road.

"It wasn't major or anything, calm down! My vision was blurry and stingy so I had to get them checked," he quickly explained to keep his sister calm. How come she reacted to something small as this but when he told her of the possibility of him being adopted, she didn't bat an eye?

"And?" Jazz urged impatiently, waiting for the boy to continue as he snapped out of his inner thoughts.

"Huh? Oh yeah, so I met her and she was nice. She designed special glasses for me that I wore for two weeks which then healed them. I think she used ghost plants for that, it was really cool," he said, still impressed at the ghost plant's ability to heal so quickly.

The teenage girl, on the other hand, frowned. "What? You told me those glasses you wore to school were some part of a trend or something!"

"Well, no. But if I told you the truth, you would've pestered me about it," Danny defended himself.

"Obviously, you don't know what else those ghost plants could do. What did I tell you about talking to strangers?" she said and before he could say something to that, she continued. "That's not important now, but I'm hurt by the fact that you probably told your friends. You did, didn't you?"

When the boy didn't answer, she knew he had and sighed. "So you _did_ tell them but not your own sister? I thought we didn't keep secrets from each other!"

"I know!" Danny yelled and upon realizing how loud he was, sighed and leaned his head back on the cold cushion to calm himself down. "I... I'm sorry, it's just you always get worried whenever I get hurt and I don't want to cause you any trouble. You already have enough problems because of me and now..."

"If I didn't care about you, what type of sister would I be?" she quietly said as the boy froze. Not knowing how to reply to something like that, he decided to ask her something else.

"Why do you react badly to me getting hurt but when I tell you about the blood tests, you stay quiet?" he questioned.

"Does it really matter?" she sighed and Danny gaped.

"Of course it does!" he burst out. "Don't you see? _'Mom'_ and _'dad'_ might not actually be my real parents! I might not be related to this entire family! I won't even be your real brother."

" _Don't say that,_ " she glared at him to which he responded by turning his head away. Upon seeing the huge 'FentonWorks' sign, Danny sighed of relief. He was almost home, and then he'll be able to leave. The tension in the car was starting to become unbearable.

The older teenager parked the car near the building and Danny waited for her to remove the lock but it never came.

He turned back to face Jazz only to find her staring at him with an intense look. That made him uncomfortable, his sister never looked this serious before.

"Hey, aren't we going to go out?" he coughed nervously.

"Danny, what are you thinking?"

The boy blinked, caught off guard by the sudden question. He was unsure of how to reply and worried about her reaction. What was he even supposed to say?

"What do you mean?" he finally said, genuinely confused.

"You know what I mean. You're afraid that the results would turn out to be true, aren't you? Don't lie to me, I know you well when you have something on your mind," she said as Danny opened his mouth to say something back, but nothing came out. He wanted to let out his emotions, lie, explain himself or assure her that everything's alright... but he couldn't. He just _couldn't._

"Well, of course, I'd be worried! Doesn't it bother you as well? Ever since I've told you this you've been quiet, as if I told a bad joke!" he exclaimed.

"Don't you understand, Danny? I'm shocked as you are, this isn't something you hear every day. Yes, the news you just told me was very surprising and unbelievable, and there's a high possibility it can actually turn out to be true," she said and extended her arms, holding her brother's hands tightly. "I'm worried as well, but for you. I don't know how to comfort you, how to react in a way that won't upset or cause you to panic."

"Any person in your place would be shocked and hurt. But if we want to know the truth, we'll have to face _our_ parents."

" _W-what?_ " Danny stuttered. "What do you mean by 'our' parents. I just told you I might not be their biological son, as much as I want that to be false."

 ** _"So what?!"_** the girl exclaimed and pulled her hands away. "So what if you're not blood-related to us?"

"...I mean, I might have other parents and siblings. Or I can be an orphan for all we know!"

Jazz's expression saddened immediately, and a tear almost escaped her eyes. "Do you mean you _don't_ want to be related?"

Her voice was faint, but Danny heard every single word and each sent a sharp wave to his heart.

"Are you **insane?!** _Of course,_ I want to be related to you and mom and dad! Vice versa, I was afraid that you wouldn't want me to be your brother because we're not blood-related, that you'll see me as a stranger-"

Before he could understand what was happening, he was tackled in a tight hug, making him almost choke. But that didn't matter to him, because what she said next made him feel a million times better.

"I don't care what the truth is, you'll always stay my little brother and there's nothing that would change that, _ever_."

Danny's tense back relaxed and he found himself leaning over and hugging his sister back. After hearing those words, the weight on his shoulders lifted and the pain he felt before was almost non-existent.

However, he was still left confused. Pulling back, the boy met his sibling's eyes with a serious look. "But if the results do turn out to be true, what will we do?"

"Of course we're telling mom and dad! They likely already know, and they owe us an explanation. There are still a million questions we have unanswered. Like who are your biological parents and what happened to them, when you were adopted, if you have any biological siblings or relatives, that stuff," she explained and quickly unlocked the car door, ushering her brother out. "I'll talk to them now about it and tell them what I know. Meanwhile, you'll go to the ghost zone and take our DNA samples for testing."

Danny nodded and exited, also eager to find out the truth. "That's right. Usually, results take a couple of days, sometimes weeks to come in. I'll try to get her to speed up the process."

"Good. And Danny? You know I love you, right?" she said and the boy smiled, nodding.

"Yes, and I do too."

"Then you should know that our parents do too, saying they've known this for a while," Jazz pointed out, grinning. "Even if you aren't their biological son, you'll always stay their little boy. They care about you a lot, more than you think."

"Thank you," he whispered and transformed, turning invisible. He decided to slip by instead of meeting up with his parents. Jazz was going to deal with them anyway.

Despite all that, Danny felt better than before, after hearing Jazz talk. And the fact that even if he wasn't biologically related to his parents, they still cared about him and wanted him to do better in school and his job.

However, now was not the time to let his emotions control his next course of action. He still had digging around to do and before that, he was going to confront his parents about it.

Phasing through the door and to the basement, Danny sighed of relief when he saw that his parents weren't currently in the lab. That would've made his job difficult, so he quickly took a sample of DNA fingerprints his parents had lying around the messy lab desks and pressed the screen that opened to the ghost side.

One thing that came to mind was _how_ the door opened. He was aware that only 'Fenton' fingerprints would allow him to enter, but he passed by smoothly. Was it all a joke? Could the files possibly be fake and turn out that he's still a part of the family?

However, the immediate exclaims from upstairs were enough to dismiss those thoughts and Danny left, the portal shutting behind him. He had to take the DNA test as soon as possible, he couldn't wait any longer. He _needed_ confirmation, even if it could be upsetting. And he knew how to get to it.

**~~~**

"Ah, Mr. Phantom. Always a pleasure to see you," the woman said as she directed the boy into her office, closing the door behind them.

"It's Danny," he corrected bu the ghost merely ignored him and before he could comprehend what was happening, she was already inspecting him whole.

"What is it? Is your eye vision better now?" she asked, shining light into the half-ghosts eyes, causing him to flinch. Luckily, she pulled away as soon as she found nothing worrying. But it didn't stop there. "Or is it something else? Did you break a bone or just sprain it? Are you sick with a fever? You don't feel hot nor look dead right now, maybe you're just pale for a human... Oh no, there are bags under your eyes, have you not been getting enough sleep lately? I told you to visit me if your hurt, I don't mind treating you again."

For the next half hour, the doctor spent time running around him and doing unnecessary checkups. Danny was annoyed at this point, but what could he do? The woman's obsessed with her job!

 _'And to be honest, I don't have the heart to tell her to stop.'_ Danny decided to wait a bit before telling her about his real reasons for coming here. _'Maybe if she let out that energy inspecting me, she'll finally grow bored and let me speak.'_

But unfortunately, the ghostly female didn't seem to stop anytime soon, and his patience was starting to run thin. After another impressed compliment regarding his ghostly features, Danny couldn't keep quiet. He was in a hurry, and he spent so much time flying to the clinic without the spectre speeder. He needed answers **now**.

"Hey! Can I-"

"Shh! Not now, I need to write this," the doctor shushed him, her eyes now on the clipboard. The boy groaned.

"You know, I'm not some guinea pig to be examined!" he exclaimed and in a much quieter tone, muttered, "I can't believe I get studied in both worlds, by humans _and_ ghosts. This reeks."

The woman laughed, having heard the statement by her sensitive hearing. "Aha, I'm sorry kid. I just get excited when I see your kind. It's something unusual, you see."

"Yeah, I understand. I'll make sure to send Plasmius next time," Danny sarcastically replied as she grinned.

"That won't be needed, I already have one young halfa for my researches," she clicked her pen and smiled. "Anyways, how did your eyes feel after the treatment?"

"Great actually, thanks again. My vision even seems to be better than before," he stated, wearing a genuine smile.

"That's good, I'm glad it worked," she said. "You know, Danny? You're one of my favourite patients. Whenever you show up, which is rare, I know you have something interesting to tell me."

Danny cringed. "Yeah, well, about that..."

"So it's not good?"

"I mean, I'm visiting the doctor's office, how _good_ can it be?" he said with a raised eyebrow as the ghost chuckled.

"True. But you're usually a bit more lively and hyper. I bet it's those teenage hormones acting up though most of the time and-Oh, where are your friends?"

"I didn't bring them with them today, they're a bit busy," he explained and nervously scratched his head. "I actually didn't tell them about this yet, or my parents. You're the first, after my sister, so please don't mention this conversation to anyone else."

"Hmm," the doctor pinched her lips and slowly tapped her pen on a nearby table. "Is it serious?"

_"Very."_

A flashing light bulb seemed to appear on top of her head like she already learnt everything. "It can't be that... but you're a teenager. Oh, but it makes sense then, I see."

Danny frowned. "What?"

"Yes, it can be embarrassing and a bit shameful to talk to someone about this, especially both your parents. But you should know that you chose to deal with those consequences," she stated, scribbling furiously on her mini notepad. "Unfortunately, I can't help you with the abortion since that's not my area of expertise but-"

"Abortion?!" The boy's eyes widened. What was the woman on about?

"Huh? Oh, I see! You came here to see how it'll turn like! I knew you're not the type of man to force your girlfriend into an abortion because of responsibilities, it doesn't suit you," the ghostly doctor exclaimed. "Ah, I wonder how the kid would turn out like! Since you're a half-ghost, there's a possibility your genes would end up in them but I'm not 100% sure so you'll have to bring her, but don't worry, the survival rate is almost certain-"

"Woah, woah, stop right there, kids? Abortion? Where did you get that from, I didn't say anything yet!"

While the boy was stunned at the words, the doctor frowned, confused as well. "So it's not true?"

"What's true?"

"That you got the goth chick pregnant?"

" _ **What?!**_ _No!_ We're not even-"

"So it's someone else then?" the woman wiggled her eyebrows to which Danny flushed.

"No, no! I didn't get _anyone_ pregnant," the boy stuttered. "I've barely kissed a girl!"

"Yeah, I figured that couldn't be true. I'd believe you're secretly an alien than you becoming a dad." The ghost seemed disappointed. "Dammit, I thought I was going to witness a new species."

"What made you even think I came to talk to you about _that_?"

"Well, you seemed nervous and strict about not sharing it with anyone. Not to mention you didn't even tell your parents about it."

"Yeah, but I could list a million other possibilities for my visit to the clinic," Danny pointed out.

"None of them you would talk to your doctor in the human world," she added as the boy nodded.

"True, but just so we're clear, _that's_ not happening anytime soon," he stated. " I want your help with something entirely different.

"But you looked to hit it well with that girl you brought last time, her name was Sam, right?

Danny blushed. "T-that has nothing to do with it! Seriously, I need your help right now."

The woman laughed, ripping a sheet from her notepad and throwing it to the recycling bin. "Alright, alright, I'll refrain from teasing you just because you're red as a tomato and I'm afraid you'll get sick. What do you need?"

Ignoring the first comment, the half-ghost was quick to answer her. "I need you to run a DNA test."

"Hmph, that's boring. I thought you brought something cool this time," she crossed her arms and nodded. "But I'll do it. What's it for?"

"Just some checkup. I would like the results as quickly as possible if you can."

"That's no problem. Is it on you?"

"Yes."

"Alright, I'll have to take your spit and then take it to my laboratory. It shouldn't take too long since I have all the equipment needed. I'll even do it quicker than those humans."

"Great! And can you find a match on any of the DNA's on this tablet?" he asked, handing her the object as she turned it over and inspected the piece.

"Yes, I should be able to find any resemblance between all of them. The process usually takes a couple of days, but it'll only take me about 24 hours since you brought me an advanced version.

"So can't you finish it any sooner?"

"Sorry kiddo. I'll try to speed it up for you since it looks really important, but I am only one. Just because I'm a ghost doesn't mean it won't wear me off," she said, taking off her glasses to wipe the dust off it. Meanwhile, Danny nodded understandingly.

"I get it. I wish I can help you in some way, but I only know so much high school biology," he joked.

"Well, you could tell me what all this is about later, I'm not concerned."

"I don't think we have time-"

"I'll start now. You just wait outside and make sure that for the patients who come in, tell them I'm on vacation and to visit Dr. Thomas."

"Dr. Thomas? Who's he, your colleague?"

"Subordinate, tell them that. When I take a short break, you better have a story for me."

"Fine. I just want it finished," Danny said and sighed as the woman got up, patting him on the shoulder.

"Cheer up. You're depending on one of the best professional doctors out here," she grinned.

"You're the _only_ doctor here," he pointed out.

"I'm pretending you didn't say that. Now get out of my office and head to the lobby. You'll find candy to satisfy your hunger, and don't worry, it's not ectoplasm contaminated."

Danny rolled his eyes but obliged. He was going to wait.

**~~~**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Okay, so I watched an anime the other day and I'm still trying to heal from it. Two words.
> 
> Banana Fish.


	6. Day Off

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's officially been a year since I started this book! To be honest, only 4 chapters in a year is really slow for me, so I'm going to make sure I at least update every week or 2. Anyways, I'm glad you guys liked the last chapter and my oc :) I actually don't like incorporating made-up characters into my fanfic material, but for this story, in particular, I knew I had no choice.
> 
> oH, I also decided to update today because my birthday was 3 days ago ::) I'm officially 16 haha (unfortunately, I still look like a child oof). So I hope you guys like this chapter as well!

**~~~**

**Monday Night, 10:33 pm**

"Danny?"

"Hellooo~?"

_"Danny!"_

"Hmm, maybe he's dead," the doctor thought to herself as she gave the teenager another shake on the shoulders. How did his mother wake him up for school like this every morning? He's definitely a deep sleeper and there's no doubting he slept in class as well.

Meanwhile, Danny seemed to find the clinic's chair heaven by how soundlessly he slept. He looked like an innocent baby, with no problems or responsibilities in the world. Too bad it was quite the opposite.

Although the boy hadn't told her the full truth for his sudden request, making excuses and pestering her to finish early, she had a vague idea. If her suspicions proved correct, which she didn't doubt, then whatever she was going to tell him next wouldn't be good news. The results she got likely would upset him, and she almost didn't want to tell him.

The boy had gone through a lot at such a young age, she didn't want to more weight onto his shoulders. He had already been frustrated when he'd shown up, how was he going to react now to the truth?

Then again, it will hurt if she decided to lie. Though he already had doubt uncertainty on his face, and the blood test he took earlier could be brushed off as merely a mistake. She'd tell him a few words and he'll go home happy.

But the doctor knew she couldn't do that, not because it was 'illegal' in the human world, but because nobody deserved to be lied to, even if the truth hurt. She will tell him the exact results and everything she knew, and watch how things go from there.

Either way, he'll find out eventually (and probably murder her for lying to him) so it was better to stay on the safe side.

The exhausted woman decided to get a jug of water and dumped the whole thing on the boy, enough to cause him to react immediately.

Danny jolted from his sleep and started coughing, holding the armchair for support. Rubbing his eyes to understand what was going on, he was met by an unimpressed doctor and the blinding lights in the small pale room.

"Took you long enough," she pointed out. "How do you survive ghost fights like that?"

Ignoring the woman's remark, Danny scratched his head and tried to remember why he was in a hospital, and luckily, the memory jogged fresh in his mind. However, the sudden events that were stacked in one day were too much for him and he felt a headache slowly come by.

"Uh, can I get a painkiller? My head hurts," he asked. The doctor raised a concerned eyebrow but nodded and went to fetch the pills. Meanwhile, this gave enough time for Danny to think alone to which he forced himself not to break down, again. He was done moping around, and it was time to uncover the hidden details that were locked away for who knows how long.

So when the ghost doctor finally showed up with the pill and a glass of water, Danny took them gratefully and swallowed the painkiller. Although the effect won't be instant, it'll help him focus for the time being.

"What are the results?" he asked immediately after gulping down his drink. Ever since he'd woken up, that was all in his mind. He wanted to ask her the question first thing, but his sore throat and throbbing head prevented him from saying anything.

Surprised by the sudden question, she opened her mouth out to say something but no words came out. She still hadn't thought over how she was going to tell him the truth.

However, Danny had already figured out what the results were by her silence. It was _too_ obvious.

The boy sighed and buried his face between his hands. What was he even expecting? That it would be all a lie? That things would go back to normal? Ha, what a load of bull.

The doctor mustered a sad smile but decided to ignore the boy's disappointment and clicked on her notebook. "I took the samples and your DNA doesn't match _any_ of them. However, the machine you gave me had your DNA recognized in the system. I'm guessing it's to allow you access to whatever the purpose of it is."

"Of course, it's supposed to let me enter the ghost zone through the portal and anyone of Fenton blood. But they obviously made sure to put my DNA in the machine so that it gives me access to open it too," Danny explained and raised his head. "Can I see the paper?"

"Oh, sure. You mean the one with the results, right?" she fiddled with the clipped sheets and pulled a single paper, handing it over to the boy. "You can keep it handy. I have an extra copy already for records. I'll go now but when you decide to leave, make sure you come to my office first," she stated and Danny got up.

"No need, I'll get going now," he said and gave a small smile."Thanks for everything, by the way."

"It's fine, don't worry about it. But you better get some sleep when you get back home," she warned, giving a warm smile back.

"Yeah, yeah, I will. Thanks again," the boy waved off and transformed to his ghost half before leaving. The doctor sighed, crossing her arms.

"He's not going to sleep, is he?"

"I don't think so," a familiar voice said behind her and the woman jumped quickly turning around. Upon realizing who it was, she rolled her eyes. _'Oh no, not him.'_

"What? No 'how are you, doctor' or 'I missed you'? Did I come at a bad time or something?" the ghostly young man asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You always do. I had a patient, and you know well enough when I'm busy, I can't deal with eccentric people like you, Thomas," she replied, floating to her office as the man behind her pouted and followed her.

" **Eccentric?!** _You're so mean, Lucy~!_ "

"That's doctor Lucille to you. Now please excuse me, I have work to do," she stated.

"You're no fun doctor," Thomas pouted but immediately stepped back upon receiving a deadly glare. "Alright, I'll let you go back to your work, just because I don't want to die again," he grinned and then gave her a curious look. "Who's that, by the way? I don't think I've met him, but I _did_ see him before.

The woman smiled. "That's Phantom. The one responsible for saving the earth from the disasteroid."

**~~~**

The first thing Danny had noticed before entering the laboratory was that the house was eerily quiet. _Too quiet_. Usually, around this time his parents would be working here (and making a disaster).

The boy lightly stepped into the empty room and scanned his surroundings. When he was sure that no one was going to suddenly surprise him with anti-ghost gear, he transformed back to 'Fenton' and made sure to lock the ghost portal behind him.

"Mom? Dad?" he swiftly asked, looking around the room once more before deciding they were most likely upstairs. Nervous, the book took one gulp and trudged up the stairs, preparing what he was going to say to them.

Were they waiting for him? Or perhaps avoiding him? Either way, there's no escaping now. He knew the truth and needed only the confirmation of his non-biological parents. Then he can bombard them with whatever questions were on his mind, most of what happened to his real parents.

Danny entered the living room, surprised to only see his sister there. As if sensing his presence, Jazz looked up from her book and instantly stopped reading. She got up and without a single word, tackled him into a tight hug.

"J-Jazz?" Danny spoke, gently pushing her away so that she was facing him. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"A lot of things," she answered but as if not wanting to be the one to explain, she quickly shifted the topic. "But what about you? Did you get the results?"

"Yeah," the boy quietly replied, turning his eyes away so that he wasn't showing the hurt on his face. Although he can't say he's surprised by it, after all, he was certain of the truth before heading out. Maybe he was hoping too much, precisely for a miracle to happen.

"So the DNA's didn't match?" the teenage girl continued after realizing her brother wasn't going to. She squeezed his shoulders comfortingly and with all the energy she could muster up, gave a bright smile.

"Cheer up, Danny. We'll get to the bottom of this, but _together,_ " she stated and gestured him to follow her and he complied. "While you were away, I had a chat with our parents and yes, whatever we were afraid of hearing turned to be true."

The boy found himself flinching by their response. So they didn't decide to deny it, but what did it mean? Did they realize there was no use in hiding the fact from him? That he was finally ready to learn the truth? Danny didn't even know whether to be angry or frustrated or sad. Sure, he _did_ hide a major secret from his parents for over a year, and it did have its consequences. Needless to say, his parents weren't quite happy that the ghost boy they'd been hunting this whole time was their son. And he really couldn't blame them for feeling that way, after all, he did come close to dying because of their weapons.

But this secret was kept from him for 15 years! That's 15 years believing that the people who have been raising this whole time weren't blood-related to him, that he'd been living in a house full of strangers. It was just so difficult to comprehend that in just one day and understand all the problems and consequences of who, how and why this all happened.

Still, for all he knew, the information he so desired could turn out to be simpler than he thought. Maybe his real parents died in an accident. Or they just didn't want him (that hurt to think of but it was a possibility).

Danny did feel like he was overthinking things like he usually did, but whatever the truth was, he _deserved_ to know. He needed to hear everything his parents kept a secret from him, no matter how small it would be.

Jazz had also gone silent while her brother mentally debated on his own. But that was because she didn't know what else to say other than spilling what she knew. And oh boy had she learnt **a lot** today; from a huge discovery told by her brother to another shocking confession from her parents later on this afternoon. She couldn't believe that all this time she hadn't noticed, that she hadn't even considered the possibility that her brother could be adopted. Either her parents were excellent actors, or she'd been blind for too long. And she really hoped it wasn't the latter.

But this was no time to worry about _her_ problems. Her brother needed her, and she was going to provide all the support she can through the whole process, starting with the scheduled talk between their parents.

Upon entering the kitchen, the two nervous adults stopped what they were doing and ran over to the boy, hugging and kissing him. Although the circumstances were different now, Danny couldn't seem to draw back from the affection he was receiving from his parents.

Yes, they were biologically not related. But as Jazz said, it didn't matter. Because they were the ones who raised him, always caring and showcasing their support, especially through his rough times. Danny knew it was going to take a while to get over the news but in time things will get better. And he hoped his parents would be able to provide him with the answers he needed. Who he was related to didn't really matter too much, considering they left his life the minute he was born, but the curiosity beat him to it and the urge to hear who they are, became overwhelmingly strong.

Danny was definitely not going to get sleep tonight. So why back down now?

"Sweetie! Oh my goodness, we were so worried about you! It got really late, and you wouldn't answer our calls!" his mother exclaimed, scanning his face and body for any injuries, suspecting he might've gotten into a ghost fight. Luckily, they were no traces, and the woman pulled away satisfied although not completely.

Meanwhile, his father squeezed the life out of him in a tight hug before releasing him minutes later. "We even held off making dinner! You made us panic, son-"

The man clamped his mouth shut while his wife glared at his mistake. She had made sure to tell him not to do or say anything that might make their son uncomfortable. They knew he needed time to register the recent news and decided to keep it cool for a week or two. She hadn't expected things to get awkward in less than 5 minutes.

Jazz merely rolled her eyes at her parents, wondering how they managed to keep a big secret for over a decade. Maybe she really had been blind to notice any of their conversations or unusual behaviour around Danny.

The said boy shuffled his feet, not sure how to reply to such a slip. But before he could muster up a sentence or two, his mother was quick to interrupt.

"Danny. Please, before you scold us for it which you have every right to, listen to me, to _us_. We want to know, do you still love us after this?" she asked and the teen, taken aback by the question, gaped at the serious looks on his parents. Not wasting any time, he quickly replied.

"What- **Of course,** I love you guys! Yes, I'm very mad at both of you for keeping it a secret, even after I had revealed my own months ago. But after all that, it didn't affect my feelings," Danny sputtered out. "It's just... so hard and painful to hear this and _not_ from you guys either. I just wish you could've told me sooner..."

Danny sighed, taking a seat at one of the kitchen chairs. "It's a lot to hold in, and I know I'll need more time to comprehend this as you guys did with my ghost powers." As if now more nervous to continue, the boy turned his head away from his shocked parents. "And... I'm just worried that... _you guys might not see me as your son anymore_ -"

"Are you insane?!" Maddie exclaimed, cutting her son halfway. " **That's** what's bothering you? Not the fact we lied to you, or how we shared nothing about your real parents? You're frustrated right now because you don't know whether our feelings for you were real or fake?"

"Well... I-"

"Dannyboy, you'll always be our son! Like I said before, it doesn't matter whether you are some ghost or not blood related to us. We raised you like you were our own, provided you with support and we're proud to have you continue our family business," Jack gushed and smiled down at the amazed boy. "We treated you the same as Jazz so that you wouldn't feel any difference."

"In reality, we love you a lot sweetie. We're just afraid the feelings not mutual after hearing the truth..." Maddie smiled sadly and Danny didn't waste any time jumping into another round of hugs.

"You guys don't know how much that makes me happy!" he exclaimed and pulled away with a small grin. "No seriously, I feel like a ton of weight has been lifted off my shoulders."

The two adults sighed of relief. However, the conversation wasn't over.

"I just have a few questions," Danny sheepishly pointed out.

"A few? Oh, he has a ton of questions alright," Jazz joked although she was serious.

"Shoot," Jack said, curious to understand what else had the boy still uneasy.

"Well, it's about my real parents..."

"Oh my, we're sorry we didn't mention that. But I guess you deserve to know now," his mother nervously smiled to her husband who shot a similar one back. They were dreading having to explain that part of the adoption, mainly because it left more questions than answers.

"You guys don't have to worry," Danny instantly noticed the uneasiness in both of his parents and frowned. "I'm not leaving this house, that's for sure. I'm just interested to know so my biological parents are, why they gave me away and if I had any siblings, that stuff. I would never leave, this **is** my _home_."

"Oh, we aren't worried about that sweetie. _It's just_ -"

The doorbell interrupted the woman from what she was going to say next, and as if sensing who it was, Jack rushed out of the kitchen to answer who was waiting by the door.

The three left family members waiting for the older man to finally show up and when he finally did, carrying two boxes of something heavenly, Maddie rolled her eyes, displeased.

"It's pizza night!" Jack yelped happily, in a hurry to consume the cheesy goodness. Meanwhile, Jazz raised an eyebrow, wondering how her father got away with ordering takeout food with her mother around while Danny licked his lips, eyes drawn to the food. He had forgotten to eat anything after school and would've gotten away with eating nothing but a bagel and granola bar for the whole day if it weren't for the tempting smell. He really was hungry and so without further waiting, dug into the food with his dad while the two females watched unimpressed. However, not resisting the smell either, they ended up picking a slice as well.

Later on, Danny's parents promised to tell him everything he wanted to know tomorrow, and he didn't protest. Everybody was tired and it was getting late. Not to mention it had been a long day and they all agreed they needed a good night's rest.

Fortunately, the ghost boy was able to fall asleep right upon crashing in bed despite the swarming never-ending thoughts in his head. And he was also able to wake up early the next day...

**~~~**

**Tuesday Morning, 7:54 am**

"Man, you almost got me!" Tucker laughed. "I swear, your pranks keep getting better and more believable each time!"

Danny sighed. "I'm not joking, Tucker. You know I'm never in a good mood in the morning to crack any jokes."

Meanwhile, the teen goth stared at the boy horrified, unsure what to think. What was she hearing just now?

Tucker laughed a bit more but upon facing his friend and noticing the complete seriousness in his face and tone, replayed what he said.

"He's... he's kidding, right?" the technogeek hesitantly asked, turning to face Sam who shot him a glare, one that threatened to beat him up if he said anything stupid after that.

Meanwhile, Danny wrapped his arms around his light jacket for comfort, hoping to find warmth there. Although he wasn't as upset as he was yesterday, the boy's sour mood was apparent, and his two friends felt it.

Sam was not expecting to hear her crush state he was adopted first thing in the morning. And at first, she totally believed he was messing with her. But the depressed tone in his voice felt real and all she could do was stare and wait for him to confess that he was joking.

Unfortunately, that never came, so she realized he was indeed serious about what he said and that she needed to knock Tucker's head before he made another mistake.

The technogeek eventually understood and clamped his mouth shut. With both friends not knowing what to say or do, they walked in silence to school. But that was only because they were surprised by the news. After recovering from the shock, they did everything they can do to comfort him.

"Guys, it's okay, I'm fine," Danny laughed gently though he didn't pull away from their embrace. It was warm and soft, it really helped calm his nerves before school. They were going to be late for class, but he wouldn't mind staying like this for a few minutes.

"I already talked to them, my parents," the boy continued, his voice muffled. "The most important part is that last night, I confirmed the truth... and that they love me..."

Sam slightly pulled away so she can face her tired friend. But she didn't say anything and waited for him to spill, to which he did. The two teens listened to the boy rant and waited for him to finish so that they could provide their insight on the situation and ask any unanswered questions.

"-and it's just...ugh! Everything's so complicated and I can't stop thinking about it!" Danny exclaimed, catching his breath through the chilly weather. No, he can't go breaking down again, he was already over this. He didn't need to-

"Danny. Look up," Sam ordered, her voice calm but with a warning edge to it. The boy hesitantly obliged and his two friends shot him bright smiles.

"Dude, we _know_ you're afraid," Tucker quietly started. "And you have every right to be. Problem after problem keeps hitting you in the face, and if I were you, I would've honestly collapsed!"

"But we also _know_ you're strong," the goth continued and kept her hold tight on the boy. "We'll do whatever we can to help you overcome this. _Trust me_ -I mean, _us_."

Danny gave a small smile and a light blush became to form on his cheeks. "Thanks a lot, guys. But I really am okay, I just wanted to let that out of my system. And I feel much better having you both patiently listen to me."

"Don't sweat it, man! Look, I'll treat you to some hot chocolate at my house. I also got this new game that I know you'll love," Tucker grinned, proud of himself for coming up with such an extraordinary idea.

Sam then frowned. "Wait, Danny, what are you even doing here? You should be taking a break off school and resting back home."

"Hey, you're right! Let's ditch school today," Tucker exclaimed and grabbed his friends' hands, dragging him in the opposite direction while Sam followed with a grin.

"What?! Lancer will kill us if we skip class-" Danny protested although there was no use in wasting his breath. His friends' minds were set, and there was no turning back now.

"Oh, come on! Lancer this, Lancer that! Who cares what he or the other teachers think?" Sam pouted and gave a sly smirk. "Plus, it's not as if you cared about Lancer's opinion before. We're late, he's gonna yell at us anyway."

"She has a point, y'know," Tucker pointed out, lightly punching his friend's arm. "You don't pay attention to class during normal days, you're definitely not gonna learn anything right now."

"...I guess it won't hurt," Danny finally agreed, unsure but smiled with a curt nod. "I didn't do yesterday's homework anyway so I can't show up having nothing done."

The two friends cheered and high fived the amused half-ghost, but before they can decide what they were going to do for the rest of the day, another small problem crossed his head.

"Wait!" Danny interrupted as the two stopped cheering and instead groaned at the serious look on his face.

_"What?"_

"What will we tell our parents when the school calls them about our absences?"

"...Oh yeah," Tucker mumbled, the thought clearly not crossing his mind. The trio took time to think for a solution and Sam decided to speak first.

"I don't think Danny's parents would mind him taking a break. And with his ghost duties, he can probably get away with ditching school for a whole week."

"Or a month!" the technogeek interrupted with a sneaky grin.

"That's not the point. The thing is, what are **we** going to do?" Sam crossed her arms as Tucker also thought it over.

"Why don't we... no, that won't work..."

"Why don't I ask my parents first?" Danny suggested. "I know they'll definitely agree to me hanging out with you guys, so maybe I can have them convince your parents to tag along with me, with whatever excuse they can muster up."

"Well, it's not like we have much of a choice, do we?" Tucker shrugged as Sam nodded in agreement. Taking that as a sign to go along with his plan, Danny took out his cellphone and in less than 5 minutes, things were set.

"Done," the halfghost grinned and the trio pumped their fists in the air.

"Hey, but what about my parents?" Sam asked, knowing full well they'll downright refuse on the spot, and no amount of begging was going to change their minds. Ditching school? **_With_** Danny? That's 2 immediate no's.

"Yeah, they'll be hard to convince," Danny grinned and his eyes flickered to neon green before reverting to their usual blue hue. "But I have a few tricks up my sleeve..."

"Then it's set!" Tucker beamed, liking the idea of ditching school. "But uh... where are we going?"

"Before we get to that," Danny said, scratching his arm nervously. "Aren't you guys curious about who I am? I mean, like, how I found out who my biological parents are, etcetera?"

"Yeah, I'm dying to hear-" Sam elbowed the technogeek before he can continue and shot an understanding smile.

"We are, but we respect your privacy. Those are family matters and you might want to keep them to yourself only. When and _if_ you're ready, we're happy to listen..."

"What do you mean? You both _are_ my family, and I was actually planning on telling you everything before we stirred out of topic," Danny replied with full honestly as the two teens smiled, glad their friend trusted them so much. "So where do you want me to start?"

"We can skip the details. I'm just curious about _who_ you're related to," Tucker answered and Sam nodded in agreement.

"That's funny, I had the exact same talk with my parents this morning. But be prepared to be a bit disappointed..."

**~~~**

**~Flashback to~**

**Tuesday Morning, 6:35 am**

"Oh, you're away early," Jazz mumbled, spotting the boy leave his room just now. Danny merely yawned with a small nod and said a quick 'good morning' before leaving for downstairs. The girl decided to follow behind him.

"Did you sleep well?" she asked, this time a bit concerned. Danny shot a confused look and nodded.

"Yeah, why?"

"Dunno. I just thought you wouldn't be able to sleep at all with everything going on," she answered honestly and shrugged as the two made their way to the kitchen.

"And how'd you know I fell asleep right after dinner?" he asked with a raised eyebrow, watching his sister pour two glasses of milk before offering one to him. Although not particularly hungry, he took it with a small 'thanks'.

"I don't. But you're awake right now so I just assumed," she flatly pointed out with a grin and the half-ghost rolled his eyes. "It literally takes you a whole band to wake you up for school, this should be considered a miracle."

"Hm," Danny leaned his back over the kitchen counter and took a small sip out of his drink. "Oh, I remember taking a nap yesterday at the clinic. Maybe that's why?"

"Sure does explain a lot. Just wait till mom sees you awake now," Jazz giggled softly.

"Speaking of mom, is she asleep?" he asked, a bit eager.

"No, she wakes up early, so does dad. You can look for them at the lab working on a new invention or something," the teenage girl wrinkled her nose in distaste and placed her empty cup in the sink. "Anyways, I'm heading out to the library, need anything?"

"Nope," he waved off and the girl smiled, patting his shoulder comfortingly before leaving the kitchen. Danny stood there for a couple of minutes after that before deciding to leave as well.

Last night was exhausting, and nobody had the energy to discuss any of the desired topics. However, he really wanted to know the details about his blood-related parents, preferably before school. He didn't think his curiosity could wait any longer, so the boy immediately decided to check out the lab where his parents most likely were working.

As Jazz said, his parents were indeed working on a new invention, and Danny gave a mental note to himself to figure out _what_ the device does before stepping a metre near it. Unless his mother deemed it safe, he was going to stay away and just watch.

"Danny? You're awake!" his father exclaimed as soon as he saw the boy descend the stairs. To say he was surprised would be an understatement. Jack was absolutely shocked. And when his wife peered over to see what the fuss was about, (she had been too focused on her work to hear who he called) her eyes doubled in size.

Danny reached the bottom of the stairs but took a few steps back. "What? Is it _that_ unbelievable I am awake?"

"Honestly, yes," his mother answered and reached over to touch his forehead, checking to see if it was hot. "Hmm, no fever..."

Danny rolled his eyes at his parents' reactions and went over to sit at a nearby chair. "I just had a lot on my mind, that's all."

"You really want to know this badly? Guess we can't blame you though," the male ghosthunter said as he carefully placed the gear he was working with on the counter and pulled over a chair so that he was seated in front of his son. Maddie followed in suite.

Not having the energy to reply, the young teen waited in silence for one of them to speak while his parents exchanged looks.

"Well, I guess I'll start," Maddie finally spoke up and directed a small chuckled over to her husband. "Jack isn't a good storyteller."

"Hey!"

"Anyways, this took place about 15 years ago. After Jazz, I wanted to have another baby but... things just didn't work out. I'll skip over the unnecessary detail. We had a good friend back in college and she was very close to us _and_ Vlad as well." Danny didn't mind any attention to the older halfa's name being mentioned and listened intentively to what his mother said next.

"She asked to see us later on that year," Maddie continued. "She actually worked in a hospital as a nurse, but unfortunately, the first time we've seen her in years after graduation had to be her laying in a hospital bed."

With a small smile, Jack decided to take the lead. "Even in her last moments, she stayed strong. _And that's why she reminds us of you,_ " the man mumbled the last part to himself but Danny's good hearing perked up at the end. "She was sick and pregnant. The doctors said they'd try to do something, but they knew she wouldn't make it. She knew as well without anybody telling her so and that's why she asked for us."

"She trusted us, almost strangers, to care for her baby even when we haven't seen her for **years** ," Maddie added.

"So... that baby was... me?" Danny hesitantly continued and his parents nodded.

"Yes. And there's something else you should know very well Danny, and that she was a great woman. There's no doubt that if she was the one to raise you, you would've grown into a marvellous man like you are now," Maddie smiled and gave a small hug to which Jack joined in as well.

"She wouldn't even let us tell you you're hers. She was very strict and specific about her instructions, and that was to consider you as our own and let you have no relations to your blood parents," Jack frowned, thinking over the memory. That was something he was still confused about to this day.

"What, why?" Danny pulled away, now confused.

"I wish we knew," his mother sighed. "She wouldn't even tell us who the father is, but I guess it doesn't matter now because he passed away."

"He's dead too?"

"Well, that was what she said. To this day, it remains a mystery," Jack stated and gave a small grin. "Don't dwell on it too much, son. We don't want you dealing with something of the past that can affect your present and future."

"Your father is correct," Maddie continued. "Your biological mother is an amazing woman who saved many people with her skills. And even before you were born, before she can even see you, the emotion in her eyes was unmistakenly loving."

Danny smiled and nodded, glad to hear the full picture. Ad although he was curious about the little details, this will do, for now.

**~~~**

**~End Flashback~**

"Yeah, your real mom was definitely hiding something," Sam said.

"I think so too!" Tucker added.

"So then, why would she call my parents, who live so far away in an unknown city, to care for her baby? And why not mention who the father is?" Danny wondered out loud.

"Also, don't you think her sickness is a bit suspicious?" Sam pointed out as Tucker rolled his eyes.

"Lots of women die to pregnancies each year, Sam. It's not as uncommon as you think."

"I know that," the goth frowned. "But Danny said she _knew_ she was dying. This was her first child, and she's a nurse for god's sake. Don't you think she'd be healthy and know how to take care of herself, at least? Unless it could be a disease..."

"I just think you both are overthinking this," the technogeek shrugged and tucked his freezing hands in his jacket pockets. "The only thing I find suspicious about the whole thing is the fact that she's lying about her 'possibly husband' being dead."

"Wait, what?" Dany stopped in his tracks.

"You think she's lying?" Sam furrowed her eyebrow, thinking over another possibility.

"Isn't she? I mean, she could've given the baby to **anyone** with the slightest blood relation but made sure to push him as far away from anything tying to herself as possible."

The trio walked in silence after that for a few minutes, taking time to look over the theory.

"I think we're all complicating it," the goth interrupted and grabbed the hands of both her best friends, forcing them to stop. "Look, we'll help investigate whatever mystery, if there is one, on another day. But right now, let's focus on enjoying ourselves and bringing Danny's spirits up."

Tucker smiled excitedly while Danny nodded with a soft smile of his own.

"Okay, sure... but um, where are we going?"

The three teens looked around and noticed how they were actually walking to the halfghost's house instead. However, before any of them could comment on it, a familiar car drove past the trio and stopped right in front of them.

The widow rolled over, revealing a certain ginger.

"Jazz?!"

"Hi, Danny! You three, get in," she ordered as the two teens smirked, hopping inside while Danny just stared dumbfounded.

"What... WHAT are _you_ doing here? Shouldn't you be at school?"

"Shouldn't you?" The girl shot a challenging brow. "We're going to the fair, now get in before I change my mind."

Not wasting any time, the black-haired teen pulled the door to the passenger's seat, leaving all worries and negative thoughts behind him.

**~~~**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just finished watching haikyuu! I really like sport animes A LOT and I can't wait for the new episodes :o BTW I'm absolutely in love with blue exorcist! Not only is the theme song epic, but omg the story, I'm IN LOVE. I'm starting to notice the pattern of all my favourite animes/cartoons being supernaturally related. Anyways, thanks for reading my monthly anime rant :')


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